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Little Iraq Girl saves Marines Email

Summary:Email claims that a little Iraqi girl saved a Marine convoy by sitting in front of a concealed mine with her teddy bear(Full commentary below.)

Example:(Submitted via email, December 2004)

Don't think you will see this on the local or national news networks, so thought I would pass it along. You can make your own minds up as to how America is doing in Iraq.

A great story on how a little girl helped save the lives of some Marines.

----- Original Message -----

I just wanted to share this email with everyone. This came from Mark
tonight. What an incredible story to tell. I pray that you will share
this email with others to show what kind of impact our military service
men and women are truly having in Iraq. A special thank you to Debbie
Jacks, she is Mark's brother's wife's mother!, she sent over several
boxes of toys/stuffed animals to Mark for the Iraqi children. This
little girl was holding a bear she sent, how do we know? Mark said it
was an Ohio beanie baby, and she sent over lots and lots of them. So
thank you very much, your simple gift easily saved the life of my
husband and many other Marines. Thank you Debbie for your heart, and
for children who may never see until you see them in heaven. Read the
story and you'll see why!

In His Grip,

NAME REMOVED
Honored wife of NAME REMOVED>
December 12th, 2004
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beautiful,

Just wanted to write to you and tell you another story about an
experience we had over here.

As you know, I asked for toys for the Iraqi children over here and
several people (Americans that support us) sent them over by the box.
On each patrol we take through the city, we take as many toys as will
fit in our pockets and hand them out as we can. The kids take the toys
and run to show them off as if they were worth a million bucks. We are
as friendly as we can be to everyone we see, but especially so with the
kids. Most of them don't have any idea what is going on and are
completely innocent in all of this.

On one such patrol, our lead security vehicle stopped in the middle of
the street. This is not normal and is very unsafe, so the following
vehicles began to inquire over the radio. The lead vehicle reported a
little girl sitting in the road and said she just would not budge. The
command vehicle told the lead to simply go around her and to be kind as
they did. The street was wide enough to allow this maneuver and so they
waved to her as they drove around.

As the vehicles went around her, I soon saw her sitting there and in
her arms she was clutching a little bear that we had handed her a few
patrols back. Feeling an immediate connection to the girl, I radioed
that we were going to stop. The rest of the convoy paused and I got
out the make sure she was OK. The little girl looked scared and
concerned, but there was a warmth in her eyes toward me. As I knelt
down to talk to her, she moved over and pointed to a mine in the road.

Immediately a cordon was set as the Marine convoy assumed a defensive
posture around the site. The mine was destroyed in place.

It was the heart of an American that sent that toy. It was the heart
of an American that gave that toy to that little girl. It was the
heart of an American that protected that convoy from that mine. Sure,
she was a little Iraqi girl and she had no knowledge of purple
mountain's majesty or fruited plains. It was a heart of acceptance, of
tolerance, of peace and grace, even through the inconveniences of
conflict that saved that convoy from hitting that mine. Those
attributes are what keep Americans hearts beating. She may have no
affiliation at all with the United States, but she knows what it is to
be brave and if we can continue to support her and her new government,
she will know what it is to be free. Isn't that what Americans are,
the free and the brave?

If you sent over a toy or a Marine (US Service member) you took part in
this. You are a reason that Iraq has to believe in a better future.
Thank you so much for supporting us and for supporting our cause over
here.

NAME REMOVED
GySgt / USMC

Commentary:
This story was first featured on the Blackhawk Five blog. It has been distributed via email and has also been a topic for a number of online forum posts. Tim Chavez, a columnist for The Tennessean, wrote an article about the story in late February 2005.

This story was first featured on the Blackhawk Five blog. It has been distributed via email and has also been a topic for a number of online forum posts. Tim Chavez, a columnist for The Tennessean, wrote an article about the story in late February 2005.

I have contacted Tim Chavez to ask if he could provide concrete evidence to support the story. In his reply, Chavez explained "it took two months for me to verify the story through the Marine in Iraq and his command back at Camp LeJeune.
I also communicated with people who know the Marine in Iraq. I am confident of his character."

I have no reason to doubt the veracity of the story or the integrity of the marine involved. However, it is perhaps unlikely that this story will ever be conclusively confirmed by other sources.

As Tim Chavez noted in his email, wartime miracles such as this have happened in other wars. In the absence of concrete proof to support the story, it is ultimately up to the reader to pass judgment based on his or her personal belief.